Adjusting To Reality - or in this case, Mythology
by LisayaTomago
Summary: An exploration of Jonathan's reaction to his family's secret. 'It took some time getting used to. Instead of the nonchalant, well practiced 'It's nothing, Jonathan' and 'Don't worry about it, Dad,' he was getting the actual truth. Truths that ranged from 'The dog blew up the store again' to 'Had to deal with a bunch of leprechauns'.' Image from Google - not mine.


**I cannot believe I am actually doing this. For those of you who put me on author's alert for anime stories, don't worry. I have a few, oh who am I kidding, a LOT in progress. Just lacking a solid beta reader here. The following story is a product of me revisiting my childhood memories. It's set after the end of the series.**

**Warnings: None.**

**Disclaimer: American Dragon: Jake Long and none of its characters are mine.**

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It took some time getting used to. Instead of the nonchalant, well practiced 'It's nothing, Jonathan' and 'Don't worry about it, Dad,' he was getting the actual truth. Truths that ranged from 'The dog blew up the store again' to 'Had to deal with a bunch of leprechauns'. He would do a double take before numbly accepting the information.

"Okay…" he would say, before moving his eyes back to the day's newspaper, finding the reports in the real world easier to understand than the living mythology in his own house.

It wasn't to say he wasn't _trying_, he just found it easier to digest in small bites.

"Say, honey. Just what is our son doing out so late?" Jonathan had asked as the two of them sat on the couch, his arm around Susan's shoulders with her head resting on his own. The modern TV flashed brightly, a recent movie playing on the screen in front of them. It was past ten and their daughter was already sound asleep in bed, but their son was still outside.

He felt her stiffen under his hands before relaxing and replied, "He's the American Dragon, John."

"So he's the dragon who lives in America? Isn't Lao Shi an American Dragon as well then?" he'd asked, eliciting a sigh from his spouse.

"No, dear. My father… he's the Chinese Dragon. Being the American Dragon isn't a statement of where you live, it's a title and a responsibility," she'd explained. She paused for a moment as a series of intense fights moved on the screen, before continuing, "He has to act as a… mediator, if you will. He deals with the magical community and has to protect their existence from the public."

"So why does he get hurt so often?" There had been another short pause as Susan tried to find the words to explain.

"The magical community is volatile. They don't settle their fights with words, but rather with action. That's why there _is _a mediator, and the mediator has to be a dragon." Jonathan had adopted a suitably confused expression, which Susan noticed as her eyes flickered to his face.

"Maybe I'll explain it in more detail later." He had nodded slowly, still trying to understand the information given.

He'd gone to bed not long after, his wife wanting to wait up for Jake. The next morning as he'd gone to the kitchen for breakfast, he almost fell down.

"Good morning, Jaker- AH!" he finished with a yell. A wave of protective desire came over him as he grabbed his son's shoulders.

"What happened to your face?!"

His normally small eyes were swelling, the skin around it starting to turn blue-black thanks to the burst capillaries. There was also a little bit of swelling around his jaw, evidence of having taken a punch in that area. His bottom lip was puffed up, and though there was no blood, it was obvious that Jake had just healed from a split lip.

"Gee, Dad. It was nothing," Jake had shook him off, his words slightly less well enunciated due to his swollen lip. "If you think this is bad, you should've seen me last night. Or that other time when I fought the Huntsclan. Or this other time when-"

"That's enough, Jake," Jonathan had silenced him. "Maybe we should get you to a hospital." His son's eyes had widened and he'd shaken his head vigorously in vehement denial.

"Don't worry about it, Dad. I heal quickly. And if I really need it I can get Gramps or Sun to check me over."

Jonathan eyed him warily, checking for any signs that he wasn't all right. Jake had stared back at him, a flash of determination in his eyes until Jonathan finally gave in with a sigh, running a hand over his face as he stepped back from his examination. It was already hard to raise a _normal _teenager, and now he had to raise a teenage _dragon._

"Fine, son. I'll drop it." Jake had given him a grin at that. "But," he continued, "tell me if anything hurts or anything gets worse." The young dragon gave him a nod, too quickly for his liking. "_Promise_, Jake."

With a roll of his eyes, he had replied, "I promise," in a typical teenage fashion. Finally satisfied, Jonathan had pulled out a chair and moved on with breakfast.

So far, Jonathan had dealt with it as well as any person could, but he knew he had to deal with it better. He could tell that his kids still weren't sure just how comfortable he was with the secret, and put in an effort to remain in their human forms as often as possible, though he understood that some jobs would be easier with their dragon powers.

For example, there was one time where they were having instant noodles for dinner. The Long family was too lazy to order in and they hadn't had instant noodles for a while now.

Jonathan sat in the living room on one side of the couch, with Haley in the middle and Jake on the opposite end. He had a book in his hand while his two children were flicking through the channels as they waited for the water to boil.

Haley bounced in her seat when she found a program she liked and bugged Jake to let her watch it. With a sigh, he'd leaned back while his younger sister cheered and stared in awe at the TV screen.

Jonathan watched his children's antics out of the corner of his eye and smiled softly to himself. After about five minutes of staring morosely at the glowing TV screen, Jake sat up and made his way to the kitchen. Jonathan could almost hear the light bulb dinging in his son's head.

He kept an ear out for any conversation going on in the kitchen with his wife and was rewarded with a few phrases. The first few sentences of the conversation were barely murmurs and he could only catch the endings when their voices were raised.

"But why not?" he heard Jake complain.

"…" he could only hear muttering again. "…your father…" he heard in his wife's soft voice. The only thing that could probably concern him when he wasn't even there had to be about their dragon powers. Dragons could breathe fire, right? Or was that just in the myths? He couldn't remember all the facts but he put down his book and stood up, dusting off imaginary dust. He could feel Haley give him a quick glance but her eyes were soon glued back to the TV screen.

Making his way to the kitchen, he heard the voices within get louder.

"But it would be faster, Mom," Jake was explaining.

Peeking into the kitchen, he saw Susan standing in front of the stove, watching dolefully as the water gave a small gurgle, nowhere near the vigorous boiling they needed it to be. Jake stood close to her, hands gesturing as he was trying to convince his mother.

"I told you, Jake. Your father is still not very comfortable when you use your dragon powers. You shouldn-"

"He's in the living room. He won't know," Jake cut off. Susan turned to face him, her hands on her hips. Jonathan felt an eyebrow twitch at that. What has Jake been doing behind his back?

"Don't interrupt me, Jake. And no, I will not let you do it behind his back. Only if he says yes," she said. Jonathan mentally cheered at his wife's faith and decided to make his presence known.

"In that case, Jake will be happy to know that I say yes," Jonathan cut in. Two black heads of hair turned to see him leaning against the doorway, his wife with her eyebrows raised and Jake with a happy grin on his face.

"Jonathan-" Susan started, when she was interrupted.

"Thanks Dad!" Jake exclaimed before turning towards the pot of water. "Mouth of the dragon," he intoned, and with a burst of fire the lower part of his face turned into a snout of a dragon. Before anything could be said, the American Dragon was breathing carefully controlled fire around the pot.

"Jake!" Susan gently admonished, before shaking her head. She had said if Jonathan said yes. Instead, she turned herself towards Jonathan, who still stood smiling at the doorway.

"Jonathan!" He gave a shrug.

"It doesn't bother me that much." Seeing the disbelief etched on her face, he added, "Anymore." She shook her head before turning back; taking care to make sure Jake didn't bring the whole house down with his fire.

"Okay, sweetie. I think it's hot enough," she said as soon as the water started boiling. Jake quickly cut off his fire, his snout turning back into his normal mouth with another burst of flames.

"Sure, Mom. Call me if you need any more." Susan nodded absentmindedly and Jake strode out of the room. On his way out, he encased Jonathan with a hug. After a little 'oof!' of surprise, Jonathan returned it and ruffled his hair.

"Thanks, Dad," he murmured, more sincere than the offhanded one he had said before.

With a smile, he replied, "Anytime, Jake-a-rooni!" Jake just moaned at the nickname as he trudged back to the living room to call Haley; dinner would be ready soon enough.

Going properly into the kitchen to help his wife, he saw that she had stopped coking to beam at him.

"I'm proud of you, John," she remarked with a tender smile. As he moved next to her, he picked up a packet and began cutting it open to prepare the sauces.

"Small bites, honey. Small bites," he muttered as she chuckled. "As long as I don't find out that dragons become dinosaurs later in life, I'll be able to handle it." She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, causing him to grin.

"Mom, mom!" Haley hollered as she came bursting into the kitchen. "Is the food done yet?"

"Very soon. Just give me a moment," she replied as she moved to the silver sink to pour out the hot water.

"Looks good, Mom," Jake commented as he followed Haley who had bounced onto her seat. Susan split the noodles between the four plates as Jonathan proceeded to mix two of them at once. Each parent holding two plates in each hand, they served it onto the table before slipping into their seats.

The kids promptly dug into the impromptu meal with a pair of chopsticks. Jonathan just observed the scene and felt his lips stretching into a smile. Yes, he was adjusting just fine to their reptilian family secret.

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**I may continue this. I may not. Review and tell me what you think. I appreciate constructive criticism and it would be helpful if you pointed out any mistakes made. Thx!**


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